Foundation garment



April 18, 1944. KAHN u 2,347,154

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1942 2 Sheets$heet l.

\ INVENTOR war/f4)? ,m'l' m,

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 18, 1944 FOUNDATION GARMENT Mack Kahn, Cedarhurst, N. ;Y., assignor to .Ar-

tistic Foundations, Inc., New York, N. Y a corporation of New York Application February 9, 1942, Serial No. 430,023

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a foundation garment. This application is a continuation-impart of my vco-pending application, Serial No. 402,078, filed July 12, 1941, upon which United States Letters Patent No. 2,286,186 were granted on June 16, 1942.

One trouble with most foundation garments is that they have a tendency to ride up. That is, the lower edge of the back of the garment is pulled up due to the lengthening of the back of i the wearer Whenshe sits down or bends forward. This is objectionable for a number of reasons. For one thing, the wearer has to pull the garment down after she straightens up. For another thing, an excessive pull is placed on the garters which tends to cause runs in stockings. These disadvantages have long been recognized in the industry and many attempts have been made to overcome them.

Some ten years ago, a proposal was made to avoid these disadvantages by providing a girdle having a rear panel which is elastic vertically and having adjacent side panels which are elastic both vertically and horizontally, all of these panels extending from below the buttocks to the waistline and stretching vertically throughout. Becauseof its construction this girdle has been calledthe two-way one-way stretch girdle. It has-beenon'the marketfor manyyears and has enjoyed considerable success. However, it is expensive to-make and has other disadvantages.

The foundation garment which I have invented does not stretch vertically over the seat, but is so constructed that when the wearer bends forward or sits down, the resulting upward pull on the seat portion is relieved. The foundation garment according to my invention includes side panels made of material which is elastic horizontally and a rear panel made in three sections, the bottom section being composed entirely of inelastic material and extending from a lower edge below the buttocks to an upper edge lying above the hips or approximately at the waistline, the middle section being composed of vertically elastic material and the top section being composed of horizontally elastic material. In the preferred form of my invention, the middle section is secured to the side panels so that the garment stretches vertically along the seams at the sides of the middle section.

Other features, objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent or will be pointed out in connection with the following detailed description of foundation garments made accordtogether along-the lines 13.

ing to my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figf-l is a perspective view showing the front and right side of the garment as worn on the figure;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same garment;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same garment;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification of the-form shown in Figs. 1-4.

The garment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 has .a front panel 5 including a gusset 6. The panel 5 is made of inelastic material, while the gusset '6 is made of horizontally elastic material.

Brassire portions 1 andB are attached to the topof the panel-5. The garmentis provided with theusual shoulder straps 9 and garter strapslll.

Attached to'the side edges of the front panel are two side panels each of which includesaportion H and a portion 14. The portions H lie at the sides ofthe hipsand are made ofmaterial which is .elastichorizontally and practically inelastic vertically. The portions Hand [4 are secured In order to allow the garment to'be put on easily, a zipper I2 is included. The parts thus far described may be made in any satisfactory, known manner and form no part of the presentinvention except insofar as they cooperate with the featuresof my invention as hereafter described.

Attached to the edges of the side panels is a. rear panel l5 consisting of three sections [6, I8 and 2i] arranged one above the other and secured together along the lines H and IS. The edges of the rear panel l5 are preferably coextensive with the edges of the side panels to which they are attached. Each of the sections [6, 8 and 20 may be described as generally rectangular although their several edges may be curved slightly as required for a good fit.

The bottom section l6 of the rear panel is made of inelastic material and extends from a lower edge lying below the buttocks to an upper edge lying above the hips or approximately at the waistline. The horizontally elastic portions ll of the side panels to which the side edges of section It are attached are preferably as long as or longer than the section IS. The middle section I8 is composed of material which is elastic vertically but practically inelastic horizontally. The side edges of the middle section l8 are attached to the edges of the portions l4 of the side panels so that the garment is capable of stretching vertically along the seams. This is accomplished, in the form shown in Fig. 4, by gathering or puckering the material [4 at the seams as shown at 22. The middle section I8 has sufficient elasticity to practically relieve the upward pull which tends to displace the section It when the wearer bends. The top section 20 is composed of material which iselastic horizontally but practically inelastic vertically and is attached to the edges of the top portions M of the side panels.

Although I do not Wish to be limited to any particular theory of operation, I believe that the horizontal stretching of the top section 20 contributes materially to relieving the upward pull on the bottom section Hi. "When the wearer bends forward there is a tendency for the figure I! so that their upper edges 23 are in line with the upper edge l9 ofthe'middle section I8. It will be understood that when I speak of material as being elastic in one direction and practically inelastic in the other direction, I do not mean that the material has absolutely no give in the other direction, for the very fact that it is elastic in one direction results in an ability to give or stretch substantially in the other direction. This isindicated in Fig. by the light arrows 24. Thus, (the provision of horizontally elastic material at the sides of the middle section I8 enables the garment to stretch substantially in a vertical direction along th seams between the section 18 and the side panels Ila.

Although my'invention is not restricted to any particular dimensions; I have found that good results are obtainable when the middle section is about three to four inches in height and is capable of stretching by about 40 to 60 per cent. I have also found that while it is important to have the seams at the sides of the middle section l8 stretch substantially, it is unnecessary to have these seams stretch as much as the rest of the section l8,

It will be understood that while my invention has been described in connection with the particular embodiments illustrated, such detailed description is given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

What I claim is:

1. In a combination girdle and brassiere of the character described including side panels which are elastic horizontally at the hips, a rear panel the side edges of which are co-extensive with and joined to the side panels, said rear panel consisting of three generally rectangular sections arranged one abov the other and having their adjacent edges secured together, the bottom section being composed entirely of inelastic material and extending from the lower edge of the garment to approximately the waistline, the middle section being composed of vertically elastic material and being secured to a portion of an edge of each of said side panels, each of said edge portions being vertically extensible, and the top section being composed of horizontally elastic 'material, whereby the upward pull on the middle section is partially relieved by the elasticity of the top section.

2. A combination foundation garment of the character described composed of a front panel, a rear panel, and two side panels connected between the opposite edges of th front and rear panels, the front panel including brassiere portions, the side panels including portions extending along the sides of the hips which are elastic horizontally but not vertically, and inelastic portions connected to the brassiere portions, and the rear panel including three generally rectangular sections arranged one above the other and having their adjacent edges secured together, the bottom section being composed entirely of inelastic material and extending from a lower edge below the buttocks to a upper edge lying approximately at the waistline, the middle section being composed of vertically elastic material and. having its ends secured to said side panels along a horizontally elastic portion thereof, and the top section being composed of horizontally elastic material.

- MACK KAHN. 

